In the past, numerous articles were used for providing foot pain-relief. Typically, such articles were incorporated into the shape of footwear, such as a specific kind of molding to support arches of a foot in a shoe. Other articles were provided as inner sole inserts that were also specifically molded to provide foot support for a wearer of a shoe.
More recently, foot support has been achieved by the use of a liquid filled bladder (see French, U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,208). The liquid provides massaging action by way of special rib designs and valves, which direct flow of the liquid. In addition, in French, U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,208 replaceable liquids can be placed in the bladder to provide for cooling and warming of a specific shoe that is fitted with the bladder. French's shoe with a bladder U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,208 generally comprises an integral sole portion of the shoe that fits as an integral insole of the shoe and integral fingers extending from the integral sole portion. Also, the cooling and warming liquids are preferably introduced by means of a supply port so that the user can change or add liquid to the bladder. Re-introduction of the cooling or warming liquid is necessary for achieving cooling or warming in the shoe. Alternatively, placing the entire shoe structure into a cooler for cooling in the shoe or a microwave oven (or other heating source) for warming in the shoe achieves the same result.
It is desirable to provide means for cooling or warming shoes that do not depend on refilling a shoe with a liquid as provided for in French, U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,208) or that do not depend on placing the entire shoe into a cooler for cooling the shoe or into a heat source such as a microwave oven for warming of the shoe. Current devices and methods for achieving such means are not available.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need to provide improved articles that provide foot pain-relief for wearers of shoe and methods thereof. This invention provides foot pain-relief articles that use liquids, solids or gases to warm or cool the feet of wearers of shoes.